Southern Illinois (0-1) vs. Northeastern (1-0)
Saluki Arena; Carbondale, IL
9:00 AM CT
TV: ESPN
Southern Illinois is taking part in the ESPN college basketball marathon. The only downside, the game is at 9 AM. It just gives the students an excuse to miss class. SIU will try to rebound from a 22-point loss to Illinois. Justin Bocut lead the Salukis with 14 points. Northeastern is trying to rebound after losing four starters from last year’s team. Preseason conference player of the year Chaisson Allen has assumed a leadership role for this team.
Northern Iowa (0-1) vs. Coe College
McLeod Center; Cedar Falls, IA
7:05 PM CT
TV: KWWL
It’s a big night for the Panthers in their home opener. They are unveiling their Sweet Sixteen banner from last season. Also, a new court will grace the McLeod Center. The hardwood has special meaning for the Panthers. It’s the same court from last year’s NCAA tournament in the Edward Jones Dome.
Coe College, a Division III school out of Cedar Rapids, should not be much of a challenge for the Panthers. It will be their first meeting since the 1951-1952 season. UNI’s last loss to the Kohawks came in 1939-1940 season when Coe won 29-23. They are coming off a loss to Northern Illinois by a score of 82-65.
Missouri State (1-0) vs. Arkansas State (0-1)
Dick’s Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off
Thompson-Boling Arena; Knoxville, TN
6:00 CT
The Missouri State Bears were able to open the 2010-2011 season with a win over Oral Roberts University 78-61. They will begin play in the NIT Season Tip-Off tonight when they travel down to Tennessee to play Arkansas State. Although Coach Martin does not have his team looking ahead, it would be nice if the Bears could get a shot at Tennessee for a chance to go to New York for the semi-finals.
But first, they will need to get past the Red Wolves of Arkansas State. The Red Wolves traveled down to Ole Miss this past weekend to open their schedule, where they were able to hold an 8 point half time lead. Unfortunately, the Rebels were a bit much for the Wolves as they fell 68-60.
Wichita State (0-0) vs. Texas Southern (0-1)
Koch Arena; Wichita, KS
7:05 CT
Wichita State has been the talk of the Valley this off season, as many think they will run away with the league. Well, when you bring back as many starters as Gregg Marshall and the Shockers do, they should look to make some noise. As a final warm-up before the Maui Invitational, the Shockers will play host to Texas Southern.
Texas Southern, who already has one MVC game under their belt, will enter Wichita with a 0-1 record. TSU fell to the Drake Bulldogs 97-78 this past weekend, and will look to change the early season direction and play spoilers tonight.
Bradley (1-0) vs. Northern Illinoins (0-1)
Carver Arena; Peoria, Ill.
7:05 CT
Bradley was able to make easy work of Texas A&M-Kingsville last weekend 66-55. Many Brave fans were a bit worried after their pre-season slip up, but Jim Les got the boys back on track. He will have a fight on his hands, however, as they play host to Northern Illinois.
Northern Illinois is coming off a tough loss to Northwestern out of the Big Ten 97-78. They were able to hang tough during the first half, but the sharp shooting of Northwestern ended up to be a bit more than they could handle.
